


No Hard Feelings, Cap

by AnonEhouse



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Howard Stark's Good Parenting, Medical Conditions, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 22:56:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10729008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse
Summary: In this Alternate Universe, Howard doesn't want Tony to look on Captain America as a hero.It's for Tony's own good.





	No Hard Feelings, Cap

(If you are reading this on any PAY site this is a STOLEN WORK, the author has NOT Given Permission for it to be here. If you're paying to read it, you're being cheated too because you can read it on Archiveofourown for FREE.)

 

Tony was two when he broke both legs leaping from his bedroom window. Howard heard the crash and ran, but by the time he got there, Tony was trying to sit up and pull away the sheet tangled around him.

"Tony! God. What were you thinking?" Howard moved the sheet and tried to decide whether he should pick Tony up, or make him stay still until an ambulance could arrive.

Tony scowled and sniffed. His eyes were wet, but he looked frustrated and angry more than in pain. In fact, he seemed to barely notice the pain. "Cap'n Merica jumps with chutes! I wanna be like him!"

"Tony." Howard sighed and gently felt along Tony's legs. He winced, feeling sick, when he felt the shape of a broken bone move under the skin. "Oh, God, Tony, I'm sorry. How bad does it hurt?"

"Hurt?" Tony blinked at Howard. He squirmed and tried to get up. 

"Tony." Howard's blood went cold. "Tony. How bad does it hurt?"

Tony looked down at his legs, and Howard's hand on them. "I'm all dirty."

"Sit still." Howard turned his head. "JARVIS!"

 

"It's a rare condition," the doctor told Howard after Tony had been hospitalized and had both legs set. He had insisted on watching as the bones were guided back in place, showing nothing more than curiosity during the process. "Fortunately he seems to have a nearly normal ability to perspire, so hyperthermia isn't an elevated risk."

"What do we do?" Howard asked, his arm around Maria, who was on the verge of fainting. "I'll pay anything, take him anywhere for treatment."

"I'm sorry, maybe in the future there will be something, but right now there is no treatment." The doctor gave Howard a sympathetic smile. "It was fortunate this was discovered so early, so you can try to instill habits to help reduce the risk of injuries going unnoticed. Teach him the habit of inspecting himself in the mirror at least once a day, look for cuts, bruises, burns, the signs of fractures, infections- I'll give you a list. He wouldn't feel it if he bit off the end of his tongue. He also can't tell if something gets in his eyes. He may not be able to tell when he needs to urinate."

Howard nodded and grasped at the first thing he thought he could do. "Sunglasses. He likes them, I'll make him special ones, fancy." Howard's mind whirled. "Teach him to be careful." Maybe when he's older, send him to a boarding school where they can watch him 24-7 and fix the habits in place. Always look in a mirror. Always take care of injuries. Maybe Howard can make specialized medical scanners suitable for home use. Tony was fearless, but please, God, let him at least learn to care for his body as a tool, if nothing else.

Maria tightened her grip on Howard's arm. "Howard."

"I'll take care of our boy, Maria. Whatever it takes."

 

"Cap wasn't a good guy." Howard said casually, as he leaned over Tony's hospital bed. "That was all for publicity. I once saw him kick a cat."

"A kitty?" Tony looked disbelieving.

"He was just a big man who looked good in a fancy suit." Howard shrugged. "You know, all muscles. And he was a show off. That's why they liked him in the newsreels."

"But... he's Cap!"

"He was greedy, too. Ate more than any three men in his unit." Howard shook his head. "They did all the real work, but you know, he was big, and blond, and blue-eyed, all American. So the Army publicity unit made him a hero and ignored the rest of the Howling Commandos."

Tony's eyes lit up. "They were heroes?"

Howard cursed himself silently. It wouldn't do to have Tony transfer his hero worship to the Commandos. "They did their jobs, that's all. There's no glory in war. It's dirty and it's scary, and soldiers would rather be home. That's why Stark Industries makes weapons, to try to give our soldiers a fighting chance to come home. The real heroes are the guys in the research labs."

Tony frowned. "Inventin' is being a hero?"

"Yes, absolutely. Inventing- with proper safety precautions! Is the most heroic thing ever."

"But...Cap..." Tony still looked doubtful.

"Cap was a cut-out, cardboard, hero," Howard said, silently asking Steve Rogers' ghost to forgive him. "He was a sickly momma's boy who lied to get into the project to become healthy. After that, he had to pay it back by fighting."

Tony looked at Howard, all big eyes, heartbreak in every line of his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. When I find his body I'll prove it. I bet he was lying about trying to save New York. He didn't know how to fly, and he was too scared to jump out of the plane over the ocean, but he wanted everyone to think he was a hero."

Tony hesitated, and then he nodded. "Find him?" 

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Howard couldn't stop the search now, even if he wanted to. "Steve Rogers wasn't a hero. You don't want to be like him." He ruffled Tony's hair. "You don't have to prove how brave you are by jumping out of windows. You're my hero, Tony." He kissed the top of Tony's head. "I don't want you to be anything like Steve Rogers."

**Author's Note:**

> I was email chatting with Z about a fic where Howard aids and abets Tony going into a situation where he knew he would die, just so Tony could be with his hero Cap for a couple of years.
> 
> And we were both- Wow, if I was his dad I'd tell Tony awful things about Cap. Stay away from him!
> 
> And it struck both of us that it would be a fun reversal of the usual fan view of Howard and then this happened. ;^)


End file.
